Zian BODOU

Chef : 1 restaurant Inventive and determined, Zian Bodou wasn't even 20 when he opened his restaurant Obsidienne, in Pau. The young chef trained with Michel Guérard and Philippe Etchebest is already dreaming of other projects.

Presentation

Born in Pau in 2003, Zian Bodou grew up in a family of teachers at the city's guitar academy; he made cooking his instrument. After completing his professional bac, he joined Michel Guérard's team at the prestigious Les Prés d'Eugénie restaurant in Eugénie-les-Bains (Landes). " I used to go there after school and at weekends," he recalls. At the same time, he was collecting awards: Best Apprentice in Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, then finalist in the TV show "Objectif Top Chef". In 2020, he was just 17 years old, making him the youngest participant in the TV competition.

After meeting chef Philippe Etchebest during the show, Zian Bodou joined his team at the Table d'Hôtes du Quatrième Mur in Bordeaux. He worked in the kitchen and pastry shop for a few months, but was soon lured away by another project. "My family and I live in a small manor dating back to 1671. With my father, we decided to open our table d'hôtes for a year, on Friday and Saturday evenings, as I was at school the rest of the week." The Table d'Hôtes du Vic Bilh was born.

But the entrepreneurial spirit didn't stop there! In 2022, Zian Bodou opened his own gourmet restaurant, Obsidienne, in Pau. Although the beginnings were not easy, due to his young age and the difficulty of recruitment, Obsidienne and its owner are now doing wonderfully well. Gault&Millau immediately awarded him a 12/20 rating and included him in the 2024 edition of 109 - Le Sang neuf de la gastronomie française. And when we ask the young chef if he already has any other plans for the future, he replies with a smile: "Me, I've got projects all the time!"

I. B.

Its recipes

Intermediate

Silk grain veal, plural carrots & "Terre d'Hermès" simmered juice

In this atypical recipe, chef Zian Bodou and his team have created a distillate from all the raw materials that make up the "Terre d'Hermès" fragrance, which they were able to identify after extensive research. The oil is produced in the restaurant using a rotary evaporator.

More information

Chef Zian BODOU

Restaurant Obsidienne
64000 PAU